Vintage photos of NYC beachgoers from the 1880s to 1940s capture the incredible change of fashions and timeless love of the sand as Memorial Day Weekend kicks off the summer
This weekend, people across the United States are heading to the beach to ring in the official start of summer - Memorial Day! We're celebrating the warm weather by reflecting on the days when knee-length bathing suits were worn instead of bikinis, television sets with antennas were used instead of iPads, and friends canoodled in the sands. These blast from the past black-and-white pictures of beachgoers in New York show how the fashions and attractions that make up our summers have changed, even as our love for being under the sun has stayed exactly the same. The pictures date from as far back as 1880, like this family portrait that shows one mother's hoop skirt graze the sand and her fashionable children sporting sun hats.
This 1901 photo shows five women sporting short-sleeved ankle-length dresses as they sit in the sand at Sea Gate, a gated community surrounded by private beaches in Brooklyn where wealthy dynasty families such as the Morgans and Vanderbilts had addresses.
The hemlines of bathing suits got considerably shorter only 10 years later, as seen in this couple dancing the tango at Brighton Beach.
Here a crowd watches as Olympian Champion Diver Aileen Riggin twist dives at a special diving contest in Brighton Beach.
This group of girlfriends running out of the cold October sea in 1925 are sporting the sleeveless bathing suits popular with the time.
Two young women at the Playland amusement park in Rye pose in front of the Tan-O-Meter, whose caption reads ‘choose the color you want to be’ and lists how long beachgoers need to stay out in the sun to reach their desired complexion.
Navymen aboard the USS Sandpiper celebrate their return from Hawaii with grass skirts and some hula dancing.
Aviation troops fill Long Beach in Long Island with dancing in this photograph from 1922.
People in bathing suits and business suits could be seen taking in the sights and sun in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1911.
This breathtaking snap of Coney Island in 1950 shows the amusement park, once the biggest in the country, in its full glory as crowds almost completely cover the boardwalk and sand.
A crowd of people wait in line for hot dogs at Nathan's Famous, a Coney Island restaurant that still stands today.
This heartwarming snapshot captures a moment of joy for a nun and the blind boys and girls she took out for a day at Rockaway Beach.
Here musician Dorothy Jardon and members of Bennie Kruger's Brunswick Orchestra gave beachgoers a performance right there on the sand in Brooklyn circa 1922.
Here a group of friends enjoy what seems to be a birthday party celebration on a beach house in New York in 1927.
Beachgoers dine and tan outside a Boardwalk restaurant in Jones Beach State Park in Long Island circa 1931.
No comments